Operation Manna

Author: Hans Onderwater This book by Hans Onderwater is the standard work about the food drop missions over Occupied Holland with a bundle of information, photos and first hand accounts of the hunger winter and the food drop missions.It give a complete overview of the drop zones, the units involved and the amount of food that was dropped.

The Mallon Crew

A book by Vic Jay: "'The Mallon crew' is the extraordinary result of four years of research. My decision in 2012 to write a blog about my father’s war-time experiences as the Flight Engineer of a Lancaster bomber took me on an incredible voyage of discovery and unearthed some remarkable stories of courage, sacrifice and betrayal..." Vic's father dropped food on May 1st 1945 at Delft (Ypenburg airfield).

Color images of the food drop missions

Lancaster fly-past Operation Manna commemoration

Dropping food at Terbregge, Rotterdam

Lancaster at Nanton - Canada

The Manna Monument at Terbregge

Place of commemoration

At the exact spot of one of the dropzones overlooking the freeway at Terbregge is the Manna monument located. It symbolizes the belly of an allied bomber filled with food parcels. The monument has been the central location of the Manna / Chowhound commemorations since its unveilling in 2006. One year later the Air Commodore Geddes footpath was opened next to the memorial.

Diary of Norman Coats

Belly turret gunner, 390th Bomb Group

May 3 - "Another mercy mission to Holland. We went deeper into Holland today. Very low altitude. I believe I must have waved at everyone in Holland. It is really a shame the ocean being turned into Holland. The great fields of tulips are beautiful. They had, "Thank You" spelled out with rocks. They could see me waving at them because they would point each others attention to it. Some of them had American flags waving them."